Syrian Chemical Warfare

It is now almost 15 months since Donald Trump took the oath of office, and the nation has been fortunate that no major crisis had arisen.

But now, it has arrived, the Syria Crisis, enmeshed with Trump’s abuse of the Constitution, and the threat to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller and or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, with the raid on the offices, home, and hotel rooms of Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

The Republican Congress has been unwilling to pass legislation to prevent the firing of Mueller or Rosenstein. And Trump is threatening Russia and Iran over the Syrian use of chemical warfare, and Russia has interfered with American drones over Syria, so this is a massive crisis, which could lead to a major war in the Middle East with the US vs Russia.

Trump has made clear he will bomb Syria in a tweet this morning, after having said he would not give out military information before it occurs, and that has only ratcheted up the rhetoric and threats between Trump and Vladimir Putin’s government, and one wonders if it is just rhetoric, or whether direct conflict between the US and Russia is in the offing.

It is certainly proper that the US react to the chemical warfare by Syria, but the way it is being done is alarming, and signals a crisis which may get out of control.

The true test of how disastrous Donald Trump can be is now in the offing, and we all need to pray, even if not religious, as this is a major test of American leadership, and the protection of American values!

Here we are on Day 446 of the Trump Presidency, and a direct threat by Donald Trump to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and possibly Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, in wake of the FBI seizure of materials from Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen yesterday. It all is due to the Stormy Daniels controversy, but other materials, related to money laundering and Russian collusion, may also have been seized.

Trump has gone totally berserk, and is saying what has happened is a direct attack on the nation, a totally preposterous concept! And this state of mind is happening as the crisis over Syrian use of chemical weapons is on the front burner, and could lead to direct confrontation between Trump and Vladimir Putin of Russia, and cause a direct military response that could escalate, the most dangerous moment so far in the Trump Presidency.

To have a President who is so mentally unbalanced, and grasping for absolute power, preventing a full investigation of the crimes and lawlessness by himself and his underlings, and his Cabinet and other appointees, is the most dangerous situation we have been in since the Watergate Scandal under Richard Nixon.

But the potential for the crisis to be as serious as the Cuban Missile Crisis under John F. Kennedy is also possible.

And even when Richard Nixon was under fire for Watergate, he still had a steady hand in foreign policy, because he was an expert in that area.

And John F. Kennedy had a steady hand in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

But Donald Trump is clearly incapable of a steady hand, and he is a true danger to American democracy and the Bill of Rights, and he MUST be prevented from ending the Robert Mueller investigation NOW!

And it is time for the Republican Party in Congress to forget party, and do the right thing in protecting the Mueller investigation, as advocated by North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis, and Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons.

One gets the feeling that Trump’s time in office may be nearing an end soon, and Vice President Mike Pence needs to put the nation ahead of the President, and work to undermine him NOW!

Barack Obama has, after some false starts and hesitation, accomplished something no one would ever have imagined: convincing Russian President Vladamir Putin that he had better do something with his ally, Syria, on the subject of chemical warfare, or face an American military strike against Damascus! There is a long road to travel, but the outlook for a peaceful resolution of the matter seems very promising and likely.

And in so doing, Barack Obama has demonstrated elements of two former Republican Presidents, and two former Democratic Presidents, all of whom are ranked in the top ten of all of our 43 Presidents of the United States!

Chronologically, Obama has demonstrated:

That he is like Theodore Roosevelt in his promotion of “speak softly, but carry a big stick”, promoting diplomacy but willing, if need be, to use force.

That he is like Woodrow Wilson in his ethics and moral cause to enforce the international ban against chemical weapons, as Wilson wished to secure the ideal of a world without war and promotion of international diplomacy.

That he is like Dwight D. Eisenhower in wishing to have Congressional backing and approval on important issues of foreign policy, a master stroke by Obama, putting the onus on Congress to do what needs to be done, but reserving the right to take action as Commander in Chief if need be, even if Congress refuses support.

That he is like John F. Kennedy, staring down the Soviet Union in the Cuban Missile Crisis, as Obama is staring down Russia in the Syrian chemical warfare crisis.

So Obama has some of the characteristics and principles of four outstanding Presidents!